Stephen Gethins – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department for International Development

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Stephen Gethins on 2015-10-21.

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development, what assessment her Department has made of the humanitarian situation in South Sudan.

Grant Shapps

We remain deeply concerned by the dire humanitarian situation in South Sudan. In October 2015, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessed that 3.9 million South Sudanese people were severely food insecure in September, an 80% increase compared to last year at the same time and unprecedented in the country. The IPC found 30,000 people in Unity state experiencing catastrophic food insecurity. The risk of famine in the absence of urgent and immediate unrestricted humanitarian access is very real.

The UK is second largest bilateral donor to the humanitarian response in South Sudan £172m has been committed since the start of the crisis in December 2013, along with an additional £88.9m to the regional response for South Sudanese refugees.

The South Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan has sought $1.63 billion to meet the most urgent needs until the end of 2015 and it is so far 55% funded. The low level of funding is concerning. The UK Government continues to urge the international community to respond as we have and follow our lead.